Conjunction – ὥστε, καθώς

ObjectivesLearning objectives

• The uses of the conjunctions ὥστε and καθώς
• The differences in meaning between the comparative particles καθώς, ὡς, and ὥσπερ

VocabularyVocabulary

NoteConjunction – ὥστε

The conjunction ὥστε may introduce either a subordinate clause or an independent clause. Whereas a conjunction like ἵνα is almost always followed by the subjunctive in a subordinate clause, ὥστε normally takes an infinitive when introducing a subordinate clause, and it may also be followed by an indicative or imperative when introducing an independent clause:

Each of these examples also has a slightly different meaning. In Mark 15:5, ὥστε introduces an event that is a real-world result of the event described in the previous clause. The cause of Pilate’s amazement was Jesus saying nothing. Mark 2:28, on the other hand, shows that ὥστε can introduce a conclusion that can be deduced based on prior assertions. Given the truth of what else was just said in Mark 2, the proper conclusion is that the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath. Finally, in 1 Thess 4:18 ὥστε introduces something to be done based on prior assertions. Given the way in which Jesus will return, the group of believers should encourage each other in a specific way. These three uses of ὥστε parallel the uses of γάρ and οὖν, namely real-world causation, evidential causation, and speech-act causation (see 24.4.4.2 for γάρ and 31.4.3.1 for οὖν).

In addition to these uses, ὥστε may also introduce an intended result similar to ἵνα. In this use, there is usually some modal element in the context:

The deontic modal word ἐξουσία ‘authority’ allows ὥστε to specify the kind of authority the disciples had over the unclean spirits, i.e. the authority was the power to cast them out.

NoteConjunction – καθώς

The conjunction καθώς is a combination of κατά and ὡς. It equates content with an eventuality in the real world or a commanded eventuality:

In Luke 2:20, the things the shepherds had been told are equated to the things that they heard and saw. In Luke’s rendition of the golden rule, the content is whatever you would want people to do to you, and that is equated to the command to treat them in the same way.

καθώς may also be used to equate content in one clause with content in another clause:

Both knowing and being known refer to content. Given that the same verb is used, the only distinction between the two pieces of content is temporal – Paul’s future knowledge of God will be the same as how he has become known by God.

Finally, καθώς may be used to equate the truth of a proposition with the truth of another proposition. In this use, it is the truth-value of two pieces of content that are equated rather than the nature of the contents themselves:

NoteComparing the comparative particles

The uses of the four comparative particles καθώς, ὡς (43.3.3), ὡσεί (38.1.2), and ὥσπερ (49.4.3) are summarized in the following table:

As the table shows, ὡς has by far the most uses. Given the principle of compositionality, this makes sense. All the comparative particles contain ὡς, so we would expect the addition of another functional morpheme to restrict the meaning of ὡς in some way. The only use which I was unable to find an example of ὡς for in the NT was comparing the truth-value of two assertions, but this use might be possible even if not represented in the NT.